CURRENT COURSES
Skills Development: Writing and Composition [Készségfejlesztés: Írás és fogalmazás]
BTAN10003BA / BTAN18003BA / BTAN1002OMA (1st year)
In this course, the student is introduced to the skills and formats of academic writing in English, leading to the kinds of writing expected of college students. Students practice a variety of writing formats primarily in exposition, argumentation, and critical analysis, including the following 3 pieces of writing: categorical proposition, persuasive analysis, literary analysis. In the latter part of this course, the student is introduced to research skills and writing supported by research, as well as documentation and the MLA format. Students will practice techniques of invention, organization, and revision, and will undertake such composing activities as topic selection and development, audience analysis, organization and development of ideas in short essays, grammar, spelling, and mechanics in writing. The coursework relies heavily on cooperation between students, therefore peer-review will be required and its quality will also be also assessed. [Bevezetés az egyetemi esszéírás gyakorlatába.]
Translating News I [Hírek fordítva]
BTAN20104BA (BA Translation spec.)
This seminar course follows a parallel design: (a) pretaylored coursebook units on the printed news media are complemented with (b) selected items of current news; arranged according to such topics as home and foreign affairs, business, sports, travel, advertisements, life and celebrities, education. The coursebook-framework allows for targeted practice of skimming, scanning, vocabulary development, and working with headlines, while familiarizing students with the language of the press, predominantly in English. Simulated hands-on practice is to be organised on a project basis, setting up quasi editorial teams, with the course instructor supervising incoming (and potentially) outgoing translated works with the scrutiny of the editor-in-chief. The course aims to develop skills in reading/writing, that is, it relies on the printed press only. Further, one of my major goal being to sharpen students’ soft skills, such as working to deadlines and communicating efficiently (especially in a market-oriented course), tardiness and negligent attitudes in attendence, coursework quality, and emailing will not remain unconsequential. Students’ work will be assessed on the strength of their paraphrasing skills, translation tasks, project work, and an end-term paper requiring draft and stylised translation. Students are required to keep a portfolio of their completed (take-home) translations.
Mastering Writing [Írás mesterfokon]
AN3026MA Introduction to the Profession of American Studies (T. Glant)
Part of the “Introduction to the Profession of American Studies” course is devoted to developing an awareness of the writing process at Masters’ level. This component of your coursework will be assessed together with your work for Dr. Tibor Glant’s seminar. Your invested effort towards becoming a better writer, as well as towards improving your level of English will contribute to your final grade.
The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools to process scientific texts, to read them critically and to develop methods for independent scientific writing. The course will review the main stages of scientific research, from topic selection to the technical aspects of drafting a paper and writing in academic style. Students will be introduced to methods of collecting primary and secondary sources, reviewing literature and different referencing systems. The course will help them to plan their research in a structured way, to prepare an effective work plan, to develop a working hypothesis and to choose the appropriate methodology. By the end of the semester, students will have mastered the key skills and techniques needed to write an abstract, a paper and a thesis.
Indigenous Australian Literature [Őslakó ausztrál irodalom]
BTAN3018MA05 (MA in American Studies) (Course category: New Literatures/Cultures in English)
Alternative title: Indigenous Australia: Indigeneity in Poetry and Fiction
This seminar course is launched with double ambition: to introduce a traditionally oral culture through its own literature; and to see how it features in non-Indigenous Australian writing. We will examine manifestations of indigeneity as represented in or absent from selected texts: Aboriginal myths, autobiographies, poems, essays, and a novel, as well as white-Australian poems, short stories, and a novel. Realizing the importance of solid theoretical and cultural-historical grounding for literary analysis (especially for those students who have not completed a course in Australian studies yet, the first two sessions will be devoted to defining major concepts and politically correct terminology, surveying traditional and modern Aboriginal society and Aboriginal forms of art. As consolidation of the course’s work, we will attempt to define major issues of indigeneity in Australia—past and present.
[Az őslakó-tudat megjelenését vagy annak hiányát vizsgáljuk mítoszokban, önéletrajzokban, versekben esszékben, novellákban, regényrészletekben és két regényben; szemináriumi beszélgetések keretében, angolul.]
Társadalomtudományi szakfordítás I (B-A)
BTFTFAN1211 (MA in Translating, 2nd year)
Translating Social Sciences, from English to Hungarian. This is an autumn-semester seminar course. Sample texts representing the current research directions and terminology of cultural studies, sociology, poitical science, geography, law, psychology, history, and education are translated in class. Take-home projects also require independent translation. Further info on the website of the MA in Translating program
Aspects of English
BTAN20113BA (required, team-taught lecture course for BA Translation spec. students, by Pál Csontos et al.) This is a lecture course by Pál Csontos and others. I offer one session on Australia, titled “Aspects of Australian English.”
North American History and Political Culture in the 19th Century
BTAN3024MA (required, lecture course by Éva Mathey, for 1st year MA in American Studies)
This is a lecture course by Éva Mathey. I offer one session on Australia, titled “The Development of Western Democracy Down Under.”
COURSES TAUGHT
Advanced Writing and Composition [Haladó írás és fogalmazás]
BTAN10006BA, BTAN1005OMA (1st year)
Follow-up course to Writing and Composition in the fall semester. After the first term’s introductory course into writing, which focussed on paragraph writing and individual genres (rhetorical strategies, treatment of material), this course moves beyond, but relies on what has been covered in the first term’s material. After two weeks dedicated to revision, an in-depth treatment of, and practice in argumentation (supporting claims with evidence, being mindful of audience and purpose, strategies as well as fallacies of argumentation) will follow. The third part of this course deals with the theory and practice of summary writing, a skill tested in the end-of-year EYE examination. The fourth major part of the course is the research paper, (library search, documenting sources, etc.). The nature of the course suggests that there will be weekly practical assignments along with in-class discussions. [Az őszi féléves Írás és fogalmazás c. kurzus kötelező folytatása.]
American Civilisation [Amerikai országismeret]
BTAN13000BA 1st year, BTAN2300OMA 2nd year
This seminar course is designed to improve first-year students’ language skills through acquainting them with some of the core topics of American civilization, including geography and regionalism, government, basic political concepts, politics and the Constitution, society, national holidays, and everyday life. Special emphasis will also be put on certain aspects of American English. Students will be graded on the strength of their class performance, an individual short lecture, short written assignments (two response papers) and in-class tests (quizzes, end-term test).
American Culture and Institutions [Amerikai kultúra és intézményrendszer]
BTAN23005BA, BTAN3303OMA (2nd year)
This is a survey course, which serves as the foundation for all subsequent courses in American studies. Besides revisiting topics already encountered in the first-year language course titled “American Civilization,” the seminar provides opportunities for more in-depth analysis of American politics, regional identity, society, race relations, religion, myths, sports, media, and other topical issues of American life. Students will be graded on the strength of their class performance, individual short lectures, and in-class tests. [Átfogó országismereti óra, későbbi amerikanisztikai kurzusok alapja.]
Pragmatic Australian Studies [Ausztrál tanulmányok]
BTAN3018MA07 (MA in American Studies) (Course category: New Literatures/Cultures in English)
This seminar course promotes Australian culture through reading and discussing literary, historical, and political documents. It adds to a global understanding of the socio-cultural output of Western-type settler societies, supplementing and refining students’ understanding of North American phenomena. It intends to be a comprehensive course, presupposing neither a thorough former knowledge of Australia on behalf of the students, nor a chance to build a follow-up course on behalf of the instructor. By completing this course, students will have become familiar with the key geo- and bio-political events and phenomena in Australian history. They will have studied literary and cultural trends and figures, and will be able to relate these to North American parallels. They will be able to identify historic (especially colonial and postcolonial) roots of contemporary developments. They will become sensitive to minority concerns in mainstream Western, settler societies, and will be able to differentiate between types of minorities, their claims, and their modes of expression. Furthermore, the course develops students’ writing, presentation, and discussion skills, through a variety of individual and team projects prescribed. Within Australian Studies—defined as an interdisciplinary field of study at the cross-section of literature, culture, history, sociology, anthropology and politics—the proposed course focuses on civic, ethnic and multicultural nationalisms, republicanism as a form of national identity, multiculturalism in ethnic literature, literary nationalism and identity politics, and research ethics for studying Aboriginality. Each of these subject areas are examined through specific, thoroughly researched literary, historical and political texts, such as the Republican movement culminating in the 1999 Referendum, documents of Indigenous–non-Indigenous relations in the Reconciliation decade, Sunil Govinnage’s lifewriting, Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career, Peter Carey’s short fiction, and Kim Scott’s Benang: From the Heart.
Társadalomtudományi szakfordítás II (A-B)
BTFTFAN_1212 (MA in Translating, 2nd year)
Translating Social Sciences, from Hungarian to English. This is a spring-semester course, following up the one in the fall, focusing on frequent genres, such as invitations, programs, abstracts, news, articles, and websites of scholarly content. Further info on the website of the MA in Translating program.
Advanced Writing for Academic Purposes I (Workshop) [Haladó írás doktoranduszoknak 1]
BTP2BA_T_3 (PhD-program in Literary and Cultural Studies, North American subprogram)
Developing writing and composition skills for academic purposes. The course begins with diagnosing the level of students’ writing and setting academic expectations. It covers the topics of revision, writing from given texts (summary, abstract, outline), writing up own texts (paragraphing, structuring, introducing, concluding, referencing, presenting), and it concludes with individual consultation sessions.
Canadian Multiculturalism in Theory and Practice [A kanadai multikulturalizmus elmélete és gyakorlata]
BTAN3016MA11 (MA in American Studies) (Course category: Topics in North American Political Culture)
Population Management Policies in Canada [Kanadai népességpolitika]
BTP2NA_T_13 (PhD-program in Literary and Cultural Studies, North American subprogram)
This course is designed to broaden students’ understanding of cultural diversity in Canada, both in theory and in political practice. After an introduction into Canadian ethnocultural diversity from a descriptive approach, we will discuss why the federal policy of multiculturalism was introduced in 1971. Throughout the period from the 70s to the present, we will see how the policy developed from cultural pluralism (ethnic food and festivals) to a more complex accommodation of diversity (cultural relativism). We will locate possible conflicts with regional and indigenous interests, and critically assess the limits of multiculturalism in managing the ethnocultural diversity of Canada. This is a theory- and policy-oriented course involving controversial issues of minority, indigenous, and human rights. Students are encouraged to voice their understanding of cultural diversity and actively participate in the discussions. PhD-students and MA-students enrolling to this course will need to meet different requirements, to be discussed individually. [A multikulturalizmus állami politikaként Kanadából indult el, elméleti megalapozásával és gyakorlati megvalósításával azonban nem csak ez az ország dicsekedhet. Szeminárium a kapcsolódó filozófiai, szociológiai, politikai és jogi kérdésekről angolul.]
Introduction to Australia: A Social History [Bevezetés Ausztráliába: Társadalomtörténet]
BTANL)33004BA09 / BTAN3305OMA (3rd year) (Course category: Ethnic and Minority Cultures)
This seminar course attempts to give an insight to the social history of Australia, with a special focus on the Australian Aborigine. After an introduction to the land and its people with the help of selected video extracts, the chronology of the peopling of the continent will be started back around 100,000 BC. The myths of “the youngest continent,” and “timeless land” will be questioned and revised. White Australian history will be discussed from 1770 (James Cook), covering topics such as the convict society, pioneers, ANZAC (WW1), beach culture, post- MABO period, and major concepts like nationalism, assimilation and multiculturalism. In connection with the contemporary topics of Aboriginal land rights, the Sydney Olympic Games, and the Republic in 2001, students will be advised to surf the Internet. Visuals will be frequently used and selected readings will be provided in a course packet.
Challenging Diversity [A társadalmi sokszínűség kihívásai]
BTAN(L)3305BA17 (3rd year) (Course category: Contemporary American Society)
This seminar course is designed to foster critical approaches to the heterogeneous nature of US culture through exploring some key aspects of societal life (ideologies, religion, families, education, entertainment, civic commitments, policy making). We will try to identify broad underlying patterns by discussing both some theoretical principles of the construction of culture (e.g. "postethnic society") and their practical manifestations (e.g. in architecture). Course objectives are to provide an overview of US societal and cultural diversity from multiple aspects by raising controversial questions rather than providing answers to increase critical thinking and to generate informed critical opinion about the challenge of diversity in the US as well as globally.
Variations to Multiculturalism: Canada and Australia [Változatok a multikulturalizmusra: Kanada és Ausztrália]
BTAN3012MA06 (MA in American Studies) (Course category: Topics in North American Political Culture)
This seminar course is designed to broaden students’ understanding of various kinds of multiculturalisms that exist beside the American model. After an introduction into Canadian and Australian ethno-cultural diversity from a descriptive approach, we will discuss from a historical perspective why these countries introduced official federal multiculturalism policies in 1971 and 1973. Throughout the period from the 70s to the present we will see how the policy developed from cultural pluralism (cf. ethnic food and festivals) to a more complex accommodation of diversity (cf. cultural relativism). We will locate possible conflicts with regional and Indigenous interests, and critically assess the limits of multiculturalism in managing the ethnocultural diversity of these countries. This is a theory- and policy-oriented course. Students are encouraged to bring their knowledge of cultural diversity and actively participate in the discussions.
Images of Australia: Voices, Representations, Identities [Ausztrália képekben: hangok, reprezentációk, identitások]
BTAN3018MA03: (MA in American Studies) (Course category: New Literatures/Cultures in English)
By exploring a variety of primary sources—historical documents, literary pieces, and film extracts—in an interdisciplinary way, this course attempts to discover and interpret stereotypical images of Australia. Each week we will analyze topically arranged texts that range widely in time (1770s-1990s) and genre. Topics will include the land, the bush, the city, convicts, squatters, war and sport heroes, immigrants, women, and Indigenous peoples. Voice, representation, and identity will be key issues under discussion. In addition to the shorter texts collected in the course packet, one novel (Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career) will also be discussed. Students will be required to give oral presentations on cultural and theoretical background material, write an in-class test and a take-home research paper, as well as actively participate in the discussions. Historical background knowledge is useful but not necessary: I plan to rely heavily on the sources. [Irodalmi, filmes és történelmi források segítségével olvassuk a mai és a múltbeli Ausztrália képeit.]
The Challenge of Diversity in the US [Sokszínű USA]
BTAN3012MA04(MA in American Studies) (Course category: Topics in North American Political Culture)
This course is designed to broaden students’ understanding of US “multiculturalism,” with a refinement of the term through its predominantly multiracial character. We will introduce contemporary (post-civil rights era) approaches to race and ethnicity in US society. Our aim is to generate informed critical opinion about contemporary ethno-political issues, and provide for a better understanding of today’s political calamities and debates as well as of various (often stereotypical) cultural representations. Main topics: (1) the post-civil rights era; (2) social constructions of race; (3) African Americans; (4) American Indians; (5) new immigrants; (6) multiculturalism; (7) the terminology of social diversity; (8) racism and white male supremacy; (8) affirmative action; (9) the construction of identity. [Ez az angol nyelvű szeminárium máig ható faji és etnikai kérdéseket vizsgál a polgárjogi mozgalom utáni USA- ban.]
Discussions of Canadian History [Beszélgetések Kanada történetéről]
AN36003 (former undivided MA in English and American Studies)
This social and political history course aims to understand—from the vantage point of a culture that respects history and traditions—why there is no required and comprehensive national history component in the curricula in Canada. Via this issue, students will gain insight into the history of the country; the theory of history/historiography; and the complexity of Canadian national identity. Main topics are: (1) Native North America; (2) British North America; (3) French North America; (4) Confederation; (5) Canada vs. the US; (6) Immigration and population management policies; (7) Canada in the world; (8) Environmental issues. The course relies heavily on student presentations and individual research. [Társadalom és politikatörténeti szeminárium angol nyelven arról (is), hogy miért nincs kötelező nemzeti történelemtanítás Kanadában.]
Advanced Writing for Academic Purposes II (Workshop) [Haladó írás doktoranduszoknak 2]
BTP2BA_T_4 (PhD-program in Literary and Cultural Studies, North American subprogram)
This course continues developing writing and composition skills for academic purposes. It reflects on students’ conference experience and helps them convert presentations into articles. It explains the review process. Marking school essays and correction with MSWord are practical skills to practice for future instructors. Thinking through writing and the revision of papers-in-progress are dealt with throughout the semester.
Migráció tegnap és ma
BTEMITK012 (team-taught optional course in the Faculty of Humanities)
This lecture course is offered as optional for all students in the Faculty of Humanities. Instruction is in Hungarian. I teach one session, titled “Ausztrália bevándorlástörténete: Úton a nemzeti identitás felé.”
Introduction to Canada and Australia [Bevezetés a kanadisztikába és ausztralisztikába]
BTAN(L)33003BA / BTAN3312OMA (3rd year) (Course category: Regional and Multicultural Studies)
By Gabriella T. Espák, Balázs Venkovits, Péter Szaffkó, and Rita Nándori, this series of lectures focuses on Canada’s geography, history, culture and current issues on the country’s social and political scene in a North American context. The course further discusses the antipodes to expand students’ knowledge of the English- speaking world: a survey of Australian geography, history, culture, and current issues will be presented.
North American History and Political Culture in the 20th Century
BTAN3028MA (required, lecture course by Tibor Glant, 1st year MA in American Studies)
This MA 1 lecture course by Tibor Glant addresses major political and historical issues in the US, Canada, and Australia since 1900. I offer sessions on Canada and Australia, titled "Canadian Diversity," “Indigenous Australia” and “Multicultural Australia.”